Workplace Injury Lawyer Information in Greenville, SC

People hurt on the job in Greenville, South Carolina, often need to understand two different systems: workers’ compensation benefits under Title 42, and, in some situations, a civil claim against someone other than the employer. This page is a high-level overview, not a determination of coverage or fault.

Workers’ compensation as an exclusive remedy against the employer

S.C. Code Ann. § 42-1-540 provides that the rights and remedies granted by Title 42 to an employee, when the employee and employer have accepted the title’s provisions, exclude all other rights and remedies of the employee, and of certain related persons, against the employer at common law or otherwise on account of the injury, loss of service, or death. The same section contains a proviso: this limitation does not apply to injuries resulting from acts of a subcontractor of the employer or the subcontractor’s employees, or bar actions by an employee of one subcontractor against another subcontractor or that subcontractor’s employees when both subcontractors are hired by a common employer.

S.C. Code Ann. §§ 42-1-550 and 42-1-560 address claims against third persons — people other than the employer. In general, the fact that workers’ compensation may also apply does not, by itself, take away a civil claim against a responsible third party. Whether a third-party claim exists in a particular case is a legal question for a licensed attorney.

Notice and filing deadlines with the Commission

These periods are different from the three-year civil period that often applies to personal-injury lawsuits.

S.C. Code Ann. § 42-15-20 requires an injured employee or a representative to give the employer notice of the accident immediately or as soon as practicable. Except as provided for repetitive trauma, no compensation is payable unless notice is given within ninety days after the occurrence of the accident or death, unless a reasonable excuse is made to the satisfaction of the Commission and the Commission is satisfied that the employer has not been prejudiced. For repetitive trauma, notice must generally be given within ninety days of the date the employee discovered, or could have discovered by exercising reasonable diligence, that the condition is compensable, with a similar excuse-and-prejudice provision.

S.C. Code Ann. § 42-15-40 generally bars the right to compensation unless a claim is filed with the Commission within two years after an accident, or, if death resulted from the accident, within two years of the date of death. The section states different starting points or outer limits for occupational disease, certain National Guard claims, and repetitive trauma (generally two years after the employee knew or should have known the injury is compensable, but no more than seven years after the last date of injurious exposure).

Official forms, contact information, and further explanations are published by the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. This website does not file claims with the Commission.

Construction and serious injuries

Job-site incidents are discussed further on the construction accident page. Deaths may also involve the wrongful death statutes.